assassination

American

[uh-sas-uh-ney-shuhn] / əˌsæs əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

the premeditated act of killing someone suddenly or secretively, especially a prominent person.

The meticulous way in which the journalist's assassination was carried out has led to suspicions that his killers were professionals working for state security.
the act of destroying or harming treacherously and viciously.

They went after me with everything they had, engaging in character assassination and in destroying my reputation—a complete fabrication and frame-up.

Other Word Forms

counterassassination noun

Etymology

Origin of assassination

assassin(ate) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Aung San's wartime comrade Ne Win, who had taken the helm of the armed forces after the leader's assassination in murky circumstances, swooped in in a putsch he justified as protection against Myanmar's disintegration.

From Barron's

Critics described the display as macabre and unsettling, arguing it crossed a line by transforming an assassination into a spectacle.

From Salon

According to Ford’s biographer Richard Norton Smith, they feared their protective resources might be stretched dangerously thin in such a downtrodden place—a concern no doubt magnified by two earlier assassination attempts against the president.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wiser and more practical than those around her, Maomao is able to play forensic detective, prevent assassination attempts, suss out political intrigue, resist an amorous eunuch and even ingest bits of poison safely.

From Salon

For the baby boom generation, those included the JFK assassination and the Vietnam War.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023